Heavy snow in northern and western parts of the country grounded more than 100 domestic flights in Japan on Sunday, Japan’s two largest airlines said.
As of 4 p.m. (0700 GMT), ANA Holdings had halted 79 flights, which affected about 5,100 passengers. A spokesperson with Japan Airlines Co’s operations division said the airline had canceled 49 flights by 4 p.m. (0700 GMT), affecting 2,460 passengers.
A new variant of the Omicron coronavirus has been spreading rapidly globally, leading to thousands of flight cancellations over the Christmas weekend.
According to the health ministry, Japan has recorded only a dozen instances of community-spread Omicron infections and 231 total infection cases, including overseas arrivals, despite tightening border controls to manage the threat.
